My prior experiences with Blue Bunny, and especially the Duff Goldman endorsed cake flavors, have all left room for improvement. The super-light ice creams coupled with the barely average cake pieces have trouble competing with some of the premium cake-inspired products from companies like Ben & Jerry's and Blue Bell. This latest release, Caramel Fudge Brownie Sundae, is comprised of chocolate ice cream swirled with caramel flavored low-fat ice cream embedded with rich dark fudge brownie pieces and laced with buttery caramel ribbons. The ingredient list sounds impressive, but I've been fooled before.
Blue Bunny's most recent flavor contains only 150 calories per serving; a small price to pay for a plethora of chocolate, caramel and brownies. As I transferred some of this from the oval shaped carton to a bowl, the fluffy ice cream didn't put up too much of a fight. The chocolate and caramel ice creams melt down quickly and are far more pliable than their premium counterparts. The two bases are so intertwined that it's nearly impossible to taste either by themselves, but the chocolate slightly overpowers the caramel when they're combined inside a single bite. The petite, caramel swirls are golden in color and remain in a liquid-like state; however these weren't nearly as thick as other caramel swirls from the competition.
Sometimes the caramel was concentrated enough to add a gooey texture and provided enough flavoring to offset the dominant characteristics of the chocolate base, but this was rare. After the combination of ice creams and swirl hadn't been enough to completely win me over, I was hoping the rich dark fudge brownie bits would be up to the task. Duff's flavors up to this point had been based on cake, however these brownies ended up being the best of the bunch. Although they're small in stature, the strong flavoring and dense, chewy consistency raise these above the others. Blue Bunny has made up for their small size by including enough to make their way into nearly every bite. This wasn't nearly enough to compete with a premium competitor like Ben & Jerry's Brownie Chew Gooder, but it's still the best Duff flavor available from Blue Bunny.
Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: C
